10 Best Materials Science Books

In the bestselling tradition of Stuff Matters and The Disappearing Spoon : a clever and engaging look at materials, the innovations they made possible, and how these technologies changed us. In The Alchemy of Us , scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions–clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips–and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway’s writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies. Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences–intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors–particularly people of color and women–who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal–whether it’s splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

New York Times Bestseller • New York Times Notable Book 2014 • Winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books “A thrilling account of the modern material world.” — Wall Street Journal “Miodownik, a materials scientist, explains the history and science behind things such as paper, glass, chocolate, and concrete with an infectious enthusiasm.” — Scientific American Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? Why does any material look and behave the way it does? These are the sorts of questions that renowned materials scientist Mark Miodownik constantly asks himself. Miodownik studies objects as ordinary as an envelope and as unexpected as concrete cloth, uncovering the fascinating secrets that hold together our physical world. In Stuff Matters , Miodownik explores the materials he encounters in a typical morning, from the steel in his razor to the foam in his sneakers. Full of enthralling tales of the miracles of engineering that permeate our lives, Stuff Matters will make you see stuff in a whole new way. ” Stuff Matters is about hidden wonders, the astonishing properties of materials we think boring, banal, and unworthy of attention…It’s possible this science and these stories have been told elsewhere, but like the best chocolatiers, Miodownik gets the blend right.” — New York Times Book Review

Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? Why does a paper clip bend? These are the sorts of questions that Mark Miodownik is constantly asking himself. A globally renowned materials scientist, Miodownik has spent his life exploring objects as ordinary as an envelope and as unexpected as concrete cloth, uncovering the fascinating secrets that hold together our physical world. From the teacup to the jet engine, the silicon chip to the paper clip, the plastic in our appliances to the elastic in our underpants, our lives are overflowing with materials. Full of enthralling tales of the miracles of engineering that permeate our lives, Stuff Matters will make you see stuff in a whole new way.

In The Alchemy of Us , scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions – clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips – and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences – intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal – whether it’s splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

This refreshing and delightfully written book underscores the important role that wood has played in the development of American life and culture. Charmingly illustrated with author Eric Sloane’s own sketches, the text illuminates with rare insight the enormously varied and useful qualities of wood. Covering such topics as the aesthetics of wood, wooden implements, and carpentry, Sloane remarks expansively and with affection on the resourcefulness of early Americans in their use of this precious commodity. From cradle to coffin, the pioneer was surrounded by wood. It was used to make tools, fence the land, and build barns. People sat at wooden tables on wooden chairs and ate from wooden dishes. Charcoal, one of the many by-products of wood, was used to preserve meat, remove offensive odors, and produce ink. The bark of various trees was processed to make medicine. An entertaining, factual, and historically accurate book, A Reverence for Wood will delight woodcrafters and lovers of Americana. It is “one of Eric Sloane’s best books.” — Library Journal

KEY MESSAGE: Engineering Mechanics: Statics & Dynamics excels in providing a clear and thorough presentation of the theory and application of engineering mechanics. Engineering Mechanics empowers students to succeed by drawing upon Hibbeler’s everyday classroom experience and his knowledge of how students learn. This text is shaped by the comments and suggestions of hundreds of reviewers in the teaching profession, as well as many of the author’s students. The Fourteenth Edition includes new Preliminary Problems, which are intended to help students develop conceptual understanding and build problem- solving skills. The text features a large variety of problems from a broad range of engineering disciplines, stressing practical, realistic situations encountered in professional practice, and having varying levels of difficulty. KEY TOPICS: General Principles; Mechanics; Fundamental Concepts; Units of Measurement; The International System of Units; Numerical Calculations; General Procedure for Analysis; Force Vectors; Chapter Objectives; Scalars and Vectors; Vector Operations; Vector Addition of Forces; Addition of a System of Coplanar Forces; Cartesian Vectors; Addition of Cartesian Vectors; Position Vectors; Force Vector Directed Along a Line; Dot Product; Equilibrium of a Particle; Chapter Objectives; Condition for the Equilibrium of a Particle; The Free-Body Diagram; Coplanar Force Systems; Three-Dimensional Force Systems; Force System Resultants; Chapter Objectives; Moment of a Force―Scalar Formulation; Cross Product; Moment of a Force―Vector Formulation; Principle of Moments; Moment of a Force about a Specified Axis; Moment of a Couple; Simplification of a Force and Couple System; Further Simplification of a Force and Couple System; Reduction of a Simple Distributed Loading; Equilibrium of a Rigid Body; Chapter Objectives; Conditions for Rigid-Body Equilibrium; Free-Body Diagrams; Equations of Equilibrium; Two- and Three- Force Members; Free-Body Diagrams; Equations of Equilibrium; Constraints and Statical Determinacy; Structural Analysis; Chapter Objectives; Simple Trusses; The Method of Joints; Zero-Force Members; The Method of Sections; Space Trusses; Frames and Machines; Internal Forces; Internal Loadings Developed in Structural Members; Shear and Moment Equations and Diagrams; Relations between Distributed Load, Shear, and Moment; Cables; Friction; Characteristics of Dry Friction; Problems Involving Dry Friction; Wedges; Frictional Forces on Screws; Frictional Forces on Flat Belts; Frictional Forces on Collar Bearings, Pivot Bearings, and Disks; Frictional Forces on Journal Bearings; Rolling Resistance; Center of Gravity and Centroid; Center of Gravity, Center of Mass, and the Centroid of a Body; Composite Bodies; Theorems of Pappus and Guldinus ;Resultant of a General Distributed Loading; Fluid Pressure; Moments of Inertia; Definition of Moments of Inertia for Areas; Parallel-Axis Theorem for an Area; Radius of Gyration of an Area; Moments of Inertia for Composite Areas; Product of Inertia for an Area; Moments of Inertia for an Area about Inclined Axes; Mohr’s Circle for Moments of Inertia; Mass Moment of Inertia; Virtual Work; efinition of Work; Principle of Virtual Work; Principle of Virtual Work for a System of Connected Rigid Bodies; Conservative Forces; Potential Energy; Potential-Energy Criterion for Equilibrium; Stability of Equilibrium; Configuration; Kinematics of a Particle; Rectilinear Kinematics: Continuous Motion; Rectilinear Kinematics: Erratic Motion; General Curvilinear Motion; Curvilinear Motion: Rectangular Components; Motion of a Projectile; Curvilinear Motion: Normal and Tangential Components; Curvilinear Motion: Cylindrical Components; Absolute Dependent Motion;Analysis of Two Particles; Relative-Motion of Two Particles Using Translating Axes; Kinetics of a Particle: Force and Acceleration; Newton’s Second Law of Motion; The Equation of Motion; Equation of Motion for a System; of Particles; Equations of Motion: Rectangular Coordinates; Equations of Motion: Normal and Tangential Coordinates; Equations of Motion: Cylindrical Coordinates; Central-Force Motion and Space Mechanics; Kinetics of a Particle: Work and Energy; The Work of a Force; Principle of Work and Energy; Principle of Work and Energy for a System of Particles; Power and Efficiency; Conservative Forces and Potential Energy; Conservation of Energy; Kinetics of a Particle: Impulse and Momentum ; Principle of Linear Impulse and Momentum; Principle of Linear Impulse and Momentum for a System of Particles; Conservation of Linear Momentum for a System of Particles; Impact; Angular Momentum; Relation Between Moment of a Force and Angular Momentum; Principle of Angular Impulse and Momentum; Steady Flow of a Fluid Stream; Propulsion with Variable Mass; Planar Kinematics of a Rigid Body; Planar Rigid-Body Motion; Translation; Rotation about a Fixed Axis; Absolute Motion Analysis; Relative-Motion Analysis: Velocity; Instantaneous Center of Zero Velocity; Relative-Motion Analysis: Acceleration; Relative-Motion Analysis using Rotating Axes; Planar Kinetics of a Rigid Body: Force and Acceleration; Mass Moment of Inertia; Planar Kinetic Equations of Motion; Equations of Motion: Translation Equations of Motion: Rotation about a Fixed Axis; Equations of Motion: General Plane Motion Planar Kinetics of a Rigid Body: Work and Energy; Kinetic Energy; The Work of a Force; The Work of a Couple Moment; Principle of Work and Energy; Conservation of Energy; Planar Kinetics of a Rigid Body: Impulse and Momentum; Linear and Angular Momentum; Principle of Impulse and Momentum; Conservation of Momentum; Eccentric Impact; Three-Dimensional Kinematics of a Rigid Body; Rotation About a Fixed Point; The Time Derivative of a Vector Measured from Either a Fixed or Translating-Rotating System; General Motion; Relative-Motion Analysis Using Translating and Rotating Axes; Three- Dimensional Kinetics of a Rigid Body; Moments and Products of Inertia; Angular Momentum; Kinetic Energy; Equations of Motion; Gyroscopic Motion; Torque-Free Motion; Vibrations; Undamped Free Vibration; Energy Methods; Undamped Forced Vibration; Viscous Damped Free Vibration; Viscous Damped; Forced Vibration; Electrical Circuit Analogs MARKET : For readers interested in a clear and thorough presentation of the theory and application of engineering mechanics.